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Default Envelope Margins

Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Default Envelope Margins.

Word does not allow you to easily change the default positions at which the return address and main address are printed on an envelope. There are several ways around this problem, each of which exemplifies the flexible nature of Word to accomplish a task.

It seems that envelope settings are stored as a part of your document, and therefore can be stored in a template. If you only print one size of envelope, the easiest way to change the default printing position for your envelopes is to follow these steps:

Load the Normal.dot template. (This is the default template used by Word whenever you create a blank document.)

Display the Envelopes and Labels dialog box. You do this in Word 97 and Word 2000 by choosing Tools | Envelopes and Labels. You do this in Word 2002 and Word 2003 by choosing Tools | Letters and Mailings | Envelopes and Labels.

In the appropriate fields, change the positioning of the addresses, as desired.

Click on OK to close the Envelope Options dialog box.

Click on Add to Document. This inserts an envelope in your template (which you have open, remember?).

Choose Select All from the Edit menu. This selects all the envelope information that was just added to your document by Word.

Press the Del key. The envelope is removed from your document.

Save the template by clicking on the Save tool or by choosing Save from the File menu.

Close the template.

Now, the next time you use a document based on the Normal style, the envelope settings will reflect those you created in these steps.

You can also use a solution that uses a macro to create your envelopes. For instance, you can start with a new, blank document, and create an envelope that is just the way you want it to be. Add this envelope to the blank document, and then save it as a template using a descriptive name (such as Envelope.dot). Then, create the following macro and assign it to a Toolbar button:

To print an envelope, highlight the address in a letter then click on the Toolbar button with which this macro is associated. The macro will copy the address to the Clipboard, paste it at the proper place in a new document based on the Envelope template, print the envelope, and then close the envelope document without saving it.

A different approach is to use a macro to set the standard (meaning, those you want to use most often) envelope settings for you. The following macro will do just that:

To use this macro, first select the address you want used on the envelope. The macro grabs the current selection and uses it as the envelope address if no other address has already been defined. Next the IsError function determines if an envelope already exists; if one doesn't, a new one is inserted and EnvThere is set to tell us to delete it once we have changed the default properties. Once an envelope exists in the document we then change the default properties of the envelope. This is done in the With ActiveDocument.Envelope section. You can customize these properties as needed or simply omit them. (This example uses the CentimetersToPoints function to set the values; you could use other functions such as InchesToPoints, if desired.) The macro ends up by displaying the Envelope and Labels dialog box so you can make any last minute changes before printing or creating your envelope.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1824) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Default Envelope Margins.

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Comments for this tip:

Lisa DeBroeck25 Jan 2013, 14:44

Thanks for the tip. It helps with all BUT one of my printers - Brother MFC-J6710DW. Somehow, when printing return address on the envelope, the Brother printer has its own default margin (which is 0.86) and will CROP my return address when printing.But your suggestion does help: I created a document in the size of the envelope with my own margins, THEN it will not crop my address.Thanks again

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